Crime is a Riddle
by TrinityFlower of Memories
Summary: During the journey of the Ten Mysteries, Ash and co stop at a town to solve the mystery of a mysterious riddler. A little AAML woven into it! Please read and respond!
1. Chapter 1: Mystery Solvers

**Crime is a Riddle**

**By TrinityFlwr of Memories**

Chapter one: Mystery Solvers

Disclamer: Blahblahblah…don't own pokemon…blahblah blah. There

A/N: Yeah, this is my very first fanfic uploaded into It's not very good because I wrote this about 2 years ago, when I was pretty young. Please, since this is my first, could I have 'not-very-mean, but-in-a-nice-way' review, even if you found something horrible about this story? Thanks

Narrator: Last time as we saw our heroes, they uncovered the Mystery of the Ghoulish Laptop. As they move on to their eighth mystery, the only mysterious question in their mind is: _Will the group be able to solve the ten mysteries given to them? _

Ash and co. walked were walking towards Beleenda Town.

"Wow! I've solved seven mysteries!" exclaimed Ash. Misty stoped, stared at Ash, and had put her hands on her hips.

"Ash, you probably can't even solve one _riddle_ without Brock and my help."

"I agree with Misty. _I_ solved the Mystery of the Lord's Daughter," said Brock in his modest-tone, although he turned red from remembering Selanee. As the friends walked closer to their destination, Ash took out the invitation scroll, which was given to them by an unknown person, to see the rules again. It read:

" If you solve a mystery, your group gets a piece of a map. The map shows you how to get to where the tournament is held. There are ten map pieces: therefore, you shall solve ten mysteries. Good Luck."

"Well _O…K…_" replied Ash, "but Misty hardly helped us." _That_ got Misty all fierce up.

"Is that another way of telling that I'm not smart!" snaps Misty. Ash uses that please-don't-pound-on-me smile and as Brock held Misty before she attacked, a girl as old as Brock approached them with a worried look on her face.

"Are any of you good at solving riddles?" asked the girl, biting her nails impatiently. "I'm… _pretty_ good at solving riddles. I usually won all the riddle contests back at home," said Misty, though surprised by the question. Brock went into his girl-mood. "I'm the _master_ when it comes to love riddles!"

"If he's so good at love riddles, how hard is it for him to attracted a girl?" Misty whispered in Ash's ear.

He shrugged. "Hard enough." (A/N:yeah, that was a riddle)

"Let's get over the riddling talk & start with the introduction. That's Misty and Ash.

And _I'm_ Brock. But you can call me "_Handsome Hunk_" if you like!" crazily said Brock.

"SHE'LL CALL YOU A _MADMAN_ IF YOU KEEP ON ACTING THIS WAY!" yelled Misty. Ash changed the subject.

"Why is it important to have someone who's good at solving riddles, ma'am?"

The girl smiled. "'Name's Clarifee. I'll tell you about it while we walk to the town hall." Brock got all happy.

"I know how to remember _that_ name. You cleared my heart with love and I don't have to pay any fees!" While Brock laughed, Clarifee and Ash sighed, and Misty shook her head.

"You see, ever since three weeks ago, someone's been robbing riches from the rich and…"

"Giving to the poor?" Brock happily ended the sentence. Ash & Misty fell over in stupidity.

"No, not exactly," Clarifee laughs tiredly. "He's also been stealing jewelry too. He calls himself "The Unsolved Riddler". Nice name, huh?"

"Is "riddler" even a real word?" Brock asked.

Clarifee gazed above thinking. "No. I don't think so." Happily, Ash & Misty look at each other.

"Another mystery that needs to be solved!" determinedly said Misty. "And that guy's name. But _I'm_ gonna solve it first," braggingly says Ash.

"Will not," shouts Misty.

"Will to," snaps Ash.

"Will not,"

"Will to,"

"Hey you guys," laughs Clarifee, "Chill! First let me tell you the rest of the mystery." Ash & Misty stare at her dumbfounded.

"You mean there's more?" said Ash puzzled.

"Uh-huh! And this part includes the riddles. See, before he robs something, he leaves a riddle for the owner. If the owner solves it, the thief won't rob his stuff. But if the owner can't solve it, the thief robs one valuable from the owner. The police station has seven of his riddles yet only two were solved. He's planning to rob my uncle tonight."

The group gasped.

"How do you know?" asked Brock.

She shrugged. "He already sent my uncle a riddle & he always rob every three days. And so today's that day."

"Where's the riddle?" demanded Misty.

"It's in my uncle's house. The police and my uncle are already there. C'mon, let's go."


	2. Chapter 2: To Answer or Not to?

Chapter 2: To Answer or Not to Answer? That's the Riddle

"Uncle Matthew, where are you?" call Clarifee.

"Here, in the living room," replied Uncle Matthew. They ran to the living room but were stopped by Officer Jenny.

"Clarifee, who are _they_?" asked Jenny.

"_They_ are the ones who may be able to solve our mystery," snaps Clarifee.

Just to play it safe, Ash showed Jenny the map pieces they have colleted. Jenny seemed to understand. "Oh. All right," said Jenny in her police voice, "which one of you is a great riddle solver?"

Misty steps forward and blushed. "I dunno if I'm _great_ or not, but I _am_ a _good_ riddle solver!"

"C'mon," says Clarifee, "I'll show you the riddle!" The group ran until they met Uncle Matthew. "Are these the riddle solvers?" asked Uncle Matthew getting his hopes up and studying the travelers.

"I'm the only one, sir. These are just my friends, Ash & Brock. & I'm Misty!" announced Misty.

"Please call me Uncle Matthew," he said happily. Misty was talking in her mind. "_Ash said that I hardly helped them and now I'm gonna solve this mystery all by myself!" _

"Here," said Uncle Matthew, "look at the riddle." He handed her the riddle that was written on a note card. Ash & Brock walked over to her & peered at the riddle. It read:

"**What has four legs in the morning, two legs in the afternoon, & three legs at night?"**

"Hmm…" Misty stared at it while thinking. "Four in the morning, two in the afternoon, & three at night. Morning's the beginning, afternoon's the middle, & night is at the end. If you compare that to life, morning's when you're born, afternoon is when you're an adult, and night is when you're old aged. It's a human!" exclaimed Misty. Ash looks at her all weird and stuff.

"Um, Misty? All of us are human."

"NO, YOU DIMWIT. I MEANT THE **_ANSWER_**!"

"Pi_ka_ pi?" asked Pikachu.

"What?" Uncle Matthew said perplexed.

"I don't get it," Brock said puzzled and looks at Clarifee for an explanation.

"Neither do I," shrugs Clarifee.

"Misty," replies Ash, "what makes you think that "human" is the answer?" She scold at him forgivingly. "When it's born, a baby crawls on its two legs and two hands, which makes four. When it's an adult, it stands on its two legs. An old aged person walks on its two legs, but also depends on a cane." She writes down the answer on the note card. Suddenly, the card flew through the open window and then disappeared.

A/N: I'm sorry that is chapter's kinda short.


	3. Chapter 3: The Bad Guys Make Their Way

Chapter 3:Team Rocket and the Riddler Makes Their Way

"Those people are waiting for that unsolved joker guy. And those brats are there with them too!" happily said Jessie.

"Uh, Jess? I believe that guy's name is "The Unsolved Riddler,"

"Oh," Jessie's snapped, "Joker or riddler. What's the difference?"

"You know what always comes with those twerps don't ya?" mischievously says James.

"THE POKEMON!" Meowth yells excitedly.

"SHHHH! Jessie & James said sternly.

"Chu?" Pikachu looked out the window. Misty looked out too and Ash noticed.

"What's wrong, Mist?" asked Ash.

"I thought I just heard Team Rocket," she said unbelievably.

"Huh?" also looking out the window said Ash. All of the sudden, the light went out.

Officer Jenny called out, "Officer 2, go check out the lights. Officer 5, you go listen for a dial tone on the phone." They did their assignments quickly.

"Electricity has been cut off, Ma'am," said Officer 2 while Officer 5 reports that the phones been cut.

"Pri?" cries Togepi.

"Huh," Ash and Misty look up at the ceiling.

"Shhh," whispers Ash, "listen. I think someone's in the attic."

"All right everyone," whispers Officer Jenny, "go in position."

"But shouldn't he _not_ be here? We _did _solve the riddle," cried Uncle Matthew.

Clarifee shrugs. "Maybe he chose to come anyway." When the attic door above them opened slowly, everyone stood in silence. "Great! Just great! Pikachu and all the other pokemon are gone. Now what are we s'posed ta steal?" asked Meowth.

"I think the police and the twerps thought that we were the burglar," replied James.

"If they think we're the robbers, then let's at least steal some valuables. We can give some to the boss and then sell the rest out. That way we can get money both ways!" exclaimed Jessie.

Misty nudges Ash. "Ash, that's Team Rocket!" she said. Ash got up, followed by Brock and Misty then. Then the light comes back on. "Uh-oh," Team Rocket muttered surprisingly with their hands holding an 18th century Celtic vase.

"Who's _not_ prepared for trouble now, eh, Team Rocket?" Ash said mockingly.

"Hey," pouted James, "that's our motto," finished Jessie.

"Prepare for trouble," says Jessie.

"And make it double," says James.

"To protect the world from devastation,"

" To denounce the evils of tru…" says James.

While saying their motto, Ash whispered to Pikachu, "Pikachu, thunder bolt them while they're saying their motto."

"Pika pi! PI…KA…CHU!"

"Looks like Team Rocket's blasting off again," screamed Team Rocket. "TING!" Then a note card flew through the window. Misty caught it and read it.

"**I may have not come today**

**but tomorrow you'll receive your quiz anyway. **

**If you solve all 20 riddle questions**

**I'll leave your home location."**

"Oh yes," cried out Uncle Matthew, "_that_ riddle quiz! Anyone who's solved at least one of his riddle, must take the riddle quiz. Everyone who has taken that quiz missed at least two riddles when you can't miss a single one."

"Don't worry, Uncle Matthew," Misty smiled at him, "I'm sure I won't miss any."


	4. Chapter 4: The Riddling Quiz

A/N: Yeah, a finally-long chapter! But that's due to the riddles I guess. I just remembered to included the pokemon during when I wrote the middle part of the story.

Chapter 4: The Riddling Quiz

After breakfast, they all sat in the living room and relaxed. But then they heard someone walking above them. The window opened all by itself. Similar to last evening, a note card flew in. The attic door above them opened just a little bit. An envelope and a tape recorder, which already held a tape in it, dropped from the opening above. Within the envelope contained Misty's quiz.

Ash read the note card. "Press Play on the tape recorder." Brock did so.

Here is what the recorder played: "Hello friends."

("Friends!" whispered Clarifee to Brock. They heard a chuckle up in the attic.)

"As you may already know, I am The Unsolved Riddler."

("Some introduction," whispers Ash to Misty. "Toge tog," and, "Pi pika," both agreed Pikachu and Togepi.

"SILENCE!" cried the riddler.)

The tape continued. "This message is for that amateur riddle solver girl. You are to be the only one in this room, besides me. Everyone else will have to leave the room. After they leave, you will take the quiz. Once you are done, put it in the envelope give it to me in the attic. Good luck." Everyone gulped. _What if he kidnapped Misty for some ransom?_

"Misty…?" Ash whispered to Misty worriedly "I don't think you should stay here with him alone."

Misty replied "Ash, it'll be OK."

"It's time for you to leave now," said a muffled gruff voice. After that, they all left. Misty gulped. "Start the quiz," he said. She pulled a chair towards the table & began. After several minutes, she was done. Here is what it looked liked:

**1. At dusk I come without being fetched. At dawn I disappear without being stolen. I am a poets tears & a sailor's guide.** **Who am I?** Stars

**2. I am a token of ones love. I have no beginning & no end. What am I?** A ring

**3. When you say my name, I am gone. What am I?** Silence

**4. You have lost me a million times, yet you still have me. I am always at you side. What am I?** Time

**5. Who ever makes me, sells me. Who ever buy me doesn't need me. Who ever needs me doesn't buy me. What am I?** A coffin

**6. The more you take me, the more you leave me behind. What am I?** Footsteps

**7. I am greater than God & more evil than the Devil. The rich need me. The poor have me. What am I?** Nothing

**8. I am always hungry, I must always be fed, and the finger I lick will soon turn red.** Fire

**9. Lighter than what I am made of, more of me is hidden than is seen.** An iceberg

**10. To unravel me you need a simple key, no key that was made by locksmith's hand, but a key that only I will understand.** A cipher

**11. All my life I eat, but when I drink, I die. What am I?** Fire.

**12. It's the end of time & place, & the beginning of everything else.** E

**13. Runs all day, but never walks. Often murmurs, but never talks. It as abed, but never sleeps. It as a mouth, but never eats.** **What is it?** A river

**14. Not far outside the town of Pottsville, a railroad track runs through a tunnel in a hillside. There is only one track, & the tunnel is wide enough for only one train. But one day, two trains went into the tunnel from opposite directions. Each train entered the tunnel at exactly eight o'clock. Three minutes later, each train came out the opposite end of the tunnel. Yet there was no collision. How was that possible? **One train went in at 8am & the other at 8pm.

**15. A bus driver was going down a street. He went right past a stop sign without stopping. He turned left where there was a "No left turn" sign. Then we went the wrong way on a one-way street. & Yet, he didn't break a single traffic law. Why not?** The bus driver was walking.

**16. It was the first day of school. The teacher had several new students in the class. She asked all the children to write their names and their date of birth for her. The first two names she looked at were those of girls. She saw that they both had the same last name. They also had the same birthday. "Will Jane & June Campbell please stand?" asked the teacher. Two girls stood up, & the teacher saw that they looked just alike. "Oh, you're twins," she said. One of the girls shook her head. "No," she said, "we are sisters, but we are not twins." How could they be sisters & be the same age, but not be twins?** They were not twins, they were triplets. The third one was a boy.

**17. Two mothers & two daughters decided to go shopping. They found that they had twenty-seven dollars, in one-dollar bills. They divided up the money evenly, without making any of the dollars into change, so that they had exactly the same amount. How was this possible?** The 2 mothers & 2 daughters were actually 3 people, a girl, her mother, & her grandmother. Her mother is both a mother & a daughter.

**18. How many times can you subtract the number 2 from the number 50? **Once. After that, it's not 50 anymore.

**19. If 5 horses can eat 5 bags of oats in 5 minutes, how long will it take 100 horses to eat 100 bags of oats? **5 minutes. Each horse eats 1 bag in 5 minutes.

**20. It comes every minute, but never wants to stay. You lose it, but it is replaced a thousand times. When you do it, it goes on & on until it stops. **Wind

While she took the quiz, the riddler looked at her answers from above. Since he knew the answers himself, he knew she had gotten a 100 on it. Ttherefore, he had to leave. "_This is incredible_," muttered he in his normal voice in the darkness of the attic, "Never in my life have I seen such a person who could solve every single riddle I gave them." He gave a nasty little smile. "Maybe she could be very useful to me."

Ash was looking out the window in the door to check on Misty. "I hope Misty will be OK."

"Togi pri!" cried Togepi.

"Pi. Chu pi, pi ka pi." exclaimed Pikachu. He hugged Pikachu and Togepi tightly. He looked out the window again.

"Um, riddle…guy?" Misty whispered loudly, "I'm done."

"Hand it over to me up here," he says. Bing very suspicious, she reached out to him. But instead of taking the envelope, he grabbed her hand tightly with his nails piercing her skin. "Owwww…"she said as she cried out in pain. He tried to pull her up while she tried to pull herself down. Ash saw what was happening to Misty and so he barged in with Pikachu.


	5. Chapter 5: Where's Misty?

Chapter 5: Riddle: Where's Misty?

"Let go of Misty, you freak!" Ash screamed. The others came in. The riddler had won

Misty so Ash had to go up. "Make sure there are police in every opening," he said.

"Right," nodded everybody. His hands reached the attic opening and he pulled himself up.

"MISTY!" he cried.

"HEL' ME ASH…!" said a muffled voice. He ran as fast as he could until he saw Misty lying on the floor, who was gagged. A washcloth was stuffed in her mouth while her hands and feet were tied.

"Misty!" He ran up to her and took out the washcloth. When Ash saw that the riddler was near, He couldn't tell who he was by the mask and the black clothes he was wearing. "Look," said Ash calmly, yet frustrated and almost sternly. "This is your last warning. Just give back Misty and I can…help you leave without anyone noticing you."

"You're bluffing," cried out the man in his normal yet cold tone. Ash was getting pretty angry now.

"Well I guess you'll just have ta learn the hard way." Pikachu thought he understood what Ash meant.

"PI KA…!"

"No Pikachu!" Ash puts his hand in front of Pikachu to stop him.

"Pika_chu_ (What)?"Pikachu asked.

"Pikachu," said Ash frowning, "Misty's my responsibility. If you want any thing so fragile back, you have to get it yourself."

After that, Ash rammed into him, punched the riddler in the chest two times until the Unsolved Riddler got back at him. The bloody battle ended up with the Unsolved Riddler as the Victor. Ash was lying unconscious with his face and arm covered in blood and scratches. While Misty spitted the cloth out of her mouth and used her mouth to untie her hands and feet, she heard someone down below say,

"We caught him!" Misty went over to Ash, kneeled, and cradled Ash's head. She brought Ash's head close to her head and put her head on his shoulder, which was now also covered with blood.

"Ash," she cried on his shoulder, "please wake up!"

At that moment, Ash lit his eyes opened a little & whispered, "Misty, where is he?"

"He escaped after you fell. But they caught him! Ash? Do you think you can walk a little bit?" He tried to stand up using Misty's support when Brock's head popped up from the attic door.

"What's taking you guys so…oh!" He came up and helped Ash to walk.

When they finally got outside, they saw that the man's mask was taken off. But he wasn't a man at all! He was about the same age as Brock! Officer Jenny was filing a report on him when Uncle Matthew and Clarifee ran to see what has happened to Ash.

"Oh my gosh!" gasped Clarifee.

"What's happened to him?" sadly said Uncle Matthew.

"He and the Unsolved Riddler had a…battle," cried Misty.

"With Pokemon?" whispered Brock, looking at Ash.

"No," shook Misty, "by themselves."

"Misty, are you…" but Ash was soon interrupted when the riddler charged against him. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU!" The unsolved Riddler kept on repeating. He choked, squeezed, and slammed Ash against the wall until 12 officers grabbed him. Then Ash's world went black.


	6. Chapter 6: The Answer to this Riddle

Chapter 6: The Answer to the Riddle

"Mmmm…Misty? Pikachu? Brock?" weakly whispered Ash. His eyesight was still blurry and he could feel pain in almost every part of his body.

"Pi pikachu," cried Pikachu who was lying on Ash's chest.

"We're right here Ash," said Misty squeezing his hand tightly. Ash cried out in pain as he gained his eyesight back. "Sorry," said Misty, massaging his hand thinking that the pain would go away.

"Where…where am I?" asked Ash.

Brock answered this time. "We're in Clarifee's room. She's bringing you some hot soup now. Ah…I'll go see if it's ready." Before he left the room, Brock smiled. She sadly smiled, as Ash grew confused.

"Where's the Unsolved Riddler?" he asked.

Misty smiled more. "I don't know where the_ Unsolved Riddler_ is but Dane's at the police station."

"Dane?"

"Yep. That's his name."

"Well…why'd he do it?"

"His mom also came to the police station. She told us that _three weeks _ago, Dane ran away from home. He stole the valuables in order to live. He's going to be pressing charges but he's willing to pay and give it all back." Misty sat on the side of Ash's bed close to Ash.

"So…how do you feel Ash?" she whispered.

"Well, my body's aching everywhere. But I'm sure it'll all go within a day or two." Misty started to cry again. Ash smiled sadly. "Come on Misty. It really isn't that bad. See, I'm already starting to feel better." Ash tried to show his point by sitting up, although he did it slowly, yet no pain. Misty cried more as she started to hug Ash. Although surprised by the sudden move, Ash too, wrapped his arms around Misty as she rested her head on his shoulder. Pikachu was getting squeezed in between them.

"You're so stupid Ash. Why'd you battle him yourself? You _know_ he can easily defeat you. So why'd you do it?" she whispered as she made eye-to-eye contact with Ash. He smiled.

"Because Misty. I can't help myself when someone does something bad to you." After that, they heard a knock on the door. The couple took their arms off each other quite quickly and blushed at each other.

"Come in," answered Ash. To their surprise, it was Team Rocket! Ash and Misty gasped.

Jessie grinned. "Don't be surprised that we came." James handed Ash a bouquet of flowers with a 'Get Well Soon' card on it.

James said cheerfully, "If anything ever happened to you, we'd never be able to steal your pokemon. It's the Great Circle of Stealing!"

Meowth stubbornly yelled, "IT'S THE GREAT CIRCLE OF LIFE, YOU DIMWIT!"

Any how, they dropped a vial of smoke and within that time, they were gone. With that, a smile crept up on Ash's lips.

A/N: This is where it ended two years ago, butI might add another chapter, closing up the story. You know, like the the series-"Our young heroes move the to next town, where new suprises beholds them. "TO BE CONTINUED". Lame, but I wanted this to be like one of those episodes, sorry to say. Oh well, hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Could be as nice as pie (although pies aren't always nice) as to review?


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